Explain how principles that define the biological level of analysis may be demonstrated in research

Discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the biological level of analysis

1 talk why research methods are used at BLOA, enable psychologists to determine a variety of information.
2 talk about advantage and disadvantages of research methods
3 give an example phineas gage, accidental damage. Try to link it why used at BLOA

discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis

Give an example of penfield. Advantages and disadvantages ( he did electrical stimulation). Advantages: less harmful, you stimulate instead of damaging the brain. more valid, better way of investigating living' function of brain areas. disadvantages. Invasive technique, still risky since it is a surgery. Interconnectedness, not easy to know how far stimulation has spread to other areas and behavior produces may not be natural, more stereotyped.

explain one study related to the localization of function

Throughout neuroscience and psychology experts have attempted to localize function in the brain as a means of understanding human behavior more clearly. Localization of function is the pinpointing of a specific part in the brain and linking it to a specific function or job. Once we know what exact parts of the brain are responsible for certain effect we can understand effects of brain damage etc.
1 example phineas gage. talk about what happened blbalbla foundings etc.

using one or more examples, explain effects of neurotransmission on human behavior

There are over millions of neurons in your body. Neurons send chemical messages back and forth to the brain and from the brain. Neurons help you to store memories, making decisions, controlling your muscles etc. They basically do everything in your body. By having explained how neurons work I can go further into how neurotransmission works. The pre-synaptic neuron receives chemical messages from the receptors, which lie on the dendrites. These receptors send the chemical messages to the vesicle. The vesicle job is to store the neurotransmitters before releasing it. Here comes the action potential, also known as all or nothing principle. This is an electrical signal that is carried through the neuron. If strong enough it will cause the release of neurotransmitters. The receptors of post-synaptic neuron take up the neurotransmitters from the pre-synaptic neuron. The axon job is to then take away information from the body cell.
Dopamine is critical how the brain controls our movements. If you have a deficiency in dopamine you are not able to control your movements. Also people can feel fatigue, depressed and a lack of motivation. Having an excess in dopamine it will cause uncontrollable movements and increase of pulse and blood pressure. Dopamine also controls the flow of information such as memory and attention. When dopamine is released it allows us to feel feelings of pleasure and euphoria. The release of dopamine will help us to motivate or continue certain activities, such as going to the gym.
Dopamine is released into the synapse, the small gaps between neurons in the brain. Dopamine then attach to the receptors, like a key fits into a lock. This is where we feel good. However, not everything that is released from the dopamine in the synapse can be taken up by the receptors. The parts that aren't able to be taken up by the receptors will go to the reuptake pump. The reuptake pump takes away the remaining of the dopamine that still floats in the synapse. When you use cocaine this process will be disturbed. Dopamine is released and attach to the receptors. Cocaine then blocks the reuptake pump and therefore blocking the dopamine from leaving the synapse. By blocking this there will be a buildup of dopamine. The brain remains stimulated. The body needs more and more cocaine to reach the same effect. The brain saves this feeling of euphoria and can trigger people to intense cravings. This can lead to an addiction. When you use cocaine so often to get this feeling of euphoria it can disturb your mood. You can feel depressed when not taking it. It can also lead to paranoia. This can damage relationships in your environment and can also make it difficult to function in society. You can feel restless and anxious, affecting your life such as work, relationships with your friends and family. Furthermore it affects your health.

using one or more examples, explain functions of two hormones in human behavior

Oxytocin hormone produced by the hypothalamus after being stimulated by the pituitary gland. it plays a role in inducing labour contractions and lactation. It is associated with bonding between a mother and her child as well as between lovers. it appears to change the brain signals related to social recognition via facial expression. If oxytocin is given to healthy individuals it seems that brain circuits involved in fear regulation are affected and their there is an increase in trust and generosity.

discuss two effects of the environment on physiological processes

Martin Teicher (Childhood abuse hurts brain). The aim of this study was to show that abuse during childhood could change the structure and function of a brain and increases the risk from anxiety to suicides by using PET scans. Their sample group existed out of 51 patients and 97 healthy children. The researchers found that boys that were neglected during childhood associated with a significant reduction in size of the smaller corpus collosum. Furthermore girls who were sexually abused also showed the same result. Other findings were that PET scans showed electrical abnormalities in brains of abused people were similar to patients of epilepsy. Patients that had a history of sexual/ intense verbal abuse showed less blood flow in the cerebelllar vermis.How does this explain how environmental factors can affect on the physiological process? One of the findings in this experiment was that boys who were neglected during childhood had a reduction in the size of the smaller collosum can cause as Teicher said 'We believe that a smaller corpus collosum leads to less integration of the two halves of the brain and that this can result in dramatic shifts in mood and personality' Saying that if the smaller collosum is affected in such way, it changes its size and therefore it will function differently.

Other findings showed that electrical abnormalities in brains of abused people were similar to patients with epilepsy. Teicher thinks that childhood abuse can produce abnormal electrical brain activity that resembles a seize state but not actually produce an epilepsy.

One hypothesis that researches made was that hard punishment, unwanted sexual advances etc would release more than necessarily needed of stress hormones. As result the brain becomes molded due to overexposure of stress. In one experiment rats who were exposed to stress in early life developed a brain that was wired to experience of fear, anxiety etc. Researchers haven't done this kind of experiment on humans to support their hypothesis. After all the findings and research Teicher suggest that if you deal with someone who is being abused you should monitor the child, give treatment and protect it from further abuse. As Teicher said' the younger the child the more plastic is his/ her brain and greater the chance of diminishing negative changes in structure or function.'

Brain plasticity is the way the brain creates, strengthens, and discards synapses and neural pathways in response to the environment. Therefore if you were to treat the an abusive child in the early stages the child's brain is more likely to not change and function 'normally'.

discuss the use of brain imaging technologies in investigating the relationship between biological factors and behavior

Why using brain imaging technologies.
Then use example fMRI, advantages detailed knowledge, scans give info about brain structure and function of conscious patients. high resolution, non invasive.
disadvantage, scanning technique are expensive and scans are difficult to interpret and sensitive disruption, small movements.
PET scan, large sample used with many control o rule out alternative effect on brain activity, non invasive, ongoing activity.
disadvantage, difficult interpret, lack of precision, fmri is easier, expensive and needs to be injected.

with reference to relevant research studies, to what extent does genetic inheritance influence behavior

Christiansen,1977, studied 3586 sets of Danish Twins. His findings were that the monozygotic male twins had a concordance rate of 35 % whereas the dizygotic male twins had a concordance rate of 13%. *what does this mean. The concordance rate of the female monozygotic twins was significantly lower with only 21 % and 8% in the female dizygotic twins. This study of Christiansen indicates that there may be some genetic factors in criminal behavior. However, since the concordance rates were that low other factors could play a significant role.

Lykken and his colleagues conducted a happiness twin study. They compared the happiness scores of monozygotic twins and dizygotic twins who grew up together or were raised apart. Their findings were that the monozygotic twins who grew up together or raised apart had very similar results in their happiness score. The dizygotic twins did not show the same results. Researches then concluded that 50 % differences in people's happiness levels are thus genetically determined. Show disadvantages of this study

Sonja Lyubomirsky on the other hand says that people can increase their own happiness. Swartz et al. who conducted a study in 1999 followed 5 women who had multiple sclerosis. This is a chronic disease that involves damaging the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. They had to call each month another patient who had the same disease and talk for 15 minutes with them, using special listening and talking techniques. The results showed that they were happier and had increased levels of satisfaction. This suggests that Sonja lyubomirsky is right about the fact that you can increase your own happiness.

Using these studies I think that genetics does play a role in influencing behavior. I do not think though that genetics plays a dominant role in behavior. For example if you look at the hutching and mednick study they suggest that it is the combination of the environment and genetics that determines behavior, not only genetics. As the Lykken study illustrated happiness is 50 % genetically determined. Even though the women were 50 % determined by their genetics they could still increase their happiness using special techniques. This suggests that the environment can influence genetics, humans.

examine one evolutionary explanation of human behavior

Tetsuro Matsuzawa, 2007, examined spatial memory in young chimps. Took 3 paris of chimps and taught them to recognize the numerals form 1-9 on monitor. Later chimps and humans seated at computer terminal. humans made many errors and chimpanzees showed better memory for spatial distribution of numbers. psychologists argue necessary adaptation for chimpanzees to have this type of memory. This skill not essential for human survival. surrender this ability to use their brain to develop language, appears that memory skills of both chimpanzees and humans have adapted to become most suitable for respective environment in which they each live.

discuss ethical considerations in research into genetic influences on behavior

Research in humans genetic aims to identify particular genes involved in hereditary diseases. this might pose risks to participants because of the link between genetic and people's life. This can also be problematic for participants family.

always knot their privacy and confidentiality will be protected and what will happen to genetic material or information obtained as part of study.

explain how principles that define the sociocultural level of analysis may be demonstrated in research

sociocultural research goal is to see how people interact with each other. it is important that behavior o participant is as realistic as possible to avoid studies that lack ecological validity. they tend to use participant observations, interview and focus groups in order to collect data to develop and support a theory. it should be noted that the methods mentioned here results in descriptive at so they cannot be used fore explaining cause and effect relationships.

discuss how and why particular research methods are used at the social cultural level of analysis

discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the sociocultural level of analysis

Oreilly,2000, studied brithish expatriates on cota del sol. carried out several interviews and observed their behavior in many different situations. research must gain trust of member of group, done through deceit. researcher does not disclose his or her intentions to members of group and records participants behavior without obtaining informed consent. overt observes have difficulties taking notes and often have to rely on memory, meaning data are open to distortion.

describe the role of situational and dispositional factors in explaining behavior

discuss two errors in attribution

fundamental attribution dispositional bution error, people overestimate the role of factors in an individuals behavior and underestimate the situational factors. Since people gather information by observing others it leas to illogical conclusions. this is common because psychologist argue that is is because people tend to think of themselves as adaptable, flexible and ever changing humans.

self serving bias, when people take credit for their success attributing them to dispositional factors and dissociate themselves from their faulure, attributing them so situational factors.

evaluate social identity theory, making reference to relevant studies

henri tajfel social identity theory assumes that individuals strive to improv their self image by trying to enhance their self-esteem, based on either personal identity or various social identities. this means people can boost up their self-esteem through personal achievement or through affiliation with successful groups and indicates the importance of social belonging.

caroline howarth, 2002, carried out focus group interviews with adolescents living in brixton in london. see how social representation of brixton affected identity of adolescent girls. found that very negative representation of being from brixton by those from outside area was not shared by the pope living there. their representation had an influence on the identify of those in brixton it influence how the girls made friends and joint sports team. this case hows how social representation may become the base for stereotyping.

explain the formation of stereotypes and their effect on behavior

explain what is stereotyping.
tajfel argues that his is a natural cognitive process of social categorization. campbell matina two key sources stereotypes, personal experience with individuals and groups and gate keepers.

hamilton and gifford argue that stereotypes are result of illusory correlation, people see relationship between two variables even when there is none.

it can also be formed as a means of taking on the in groups social representation of the out group.

explain social learning theory, making reference to two relevant studies

bandura, assumes that humans learn behavior through observational learning. SLT involves factors, attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation. Bobo doll experiment and huesmann and eron study. found positive correlation between the number of hours of violence watch don television by elementary school children and level of aggression demonstrate when thy were teenagers. also found that hose who watched a lot of television violence when they were 8 years old were more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for criminal acts as adults.

discuss the use of compliance techniques

door in the face technique, request in made which will surely be turned down. then second request is made which asks less of someone. more likely to accept second request because they feel that the person as already lowered the request in order to accommodate them. *cialdine et al 1975, asked if they would be willing to chaperone a group of juvenile delinquent on a day trip to the zoo. 83 refused. another time they stopped students and first asked if they would b willing up to sign up to wrk 2 hours per week as counsellors of minimum of two years. no one agreed. when they followed up the students refused with request to take juvenile delinquents to zoo 50 percent agreed to serve as chaperones.